PS5 has a killer new feature to beat Xbox Series X

News
By published

The PS5's leaked Activities feature will let you jump to any part of a game

PS5
(Image credit: Sony)

The PS5 will have an "Activities" feature that will let players enter specific parts of a game straight from the main menu.

We've learned this thanks to Gematsucon on Twitter (via TechRadar), who cites a now-offline preview of WRC 9 by Gamereactor that mentions the feature.

In the case of rally driving game WRC 9, Activities seems to permit users to enter races from the main menu, without having to enter the game normally and then select a race from there.

(Image credit: Gematsucom)

The Activities feature is something that's been hinted at for some time for the PS5, although we've not had a name for it before. Chief PS5 architect Mark Cerny has previously described how the PS5's menu will let you see single-player missions and their rewards, or a selection of available multiplayer activities, which you can then select and jump into.

It seems like a natural extension of the instant resume features on the PS4, and also the Xbox One. It's not certain whether Activities is Sony's own name for this function, or if it's what the WRC 9 developer Kylotonn has decided to call it for just its own game.

We've seen patents made by Sony that lay out plans for a menu that allows fast swapping between different apps too. This may not make it to the PS5 if Sony's only just sketched out the idea, but it at least sounds like something that could come to the console in a future update.

The PS5's hardware enables some cool features of its own. Sony's custom SSD design is said to allow near-instant level loading. Meanwhile the combination of the haptic feedback on the DualSense controller and 3D audio compatibility for the console should make next-gen games more immersive than ever.

If you're looking to buy a PS5, the standard and Digital Edition versions of the console will likely go on sale around November. That's the same time we should see arch-rival Xbox release the Xbox Series X, which offers similar features but a higher graphical output and wide cross compatibility across Xbox One and Xbox Series X thanks to Microsoft's Smart Delivery system. 

Richard Priday
Richard Priday
Assistant Phones Editor

Richard is based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, tablets, gaming, and whatever else people need advice on. Following on from his MA in Magazine Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he's also written for WIRED U.K., The Register and Creative Bloq. When not at work, he's likely thinking about how to brew the perfect cup of specialty coffee.